The essence of Buddhism is not a belief system but a systematic investigation of our experience.

Meditation is not about getting rid of thoughts; it's about changing the way we relate to them.

The path to liberation is a gradual path of self-discipline, self-development, and self-transformation.

In a mind clear as still water, even the waves, breaking, are reflecting its light.

The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows. There is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. I raise my hand; I take a book from the other side of the desk; I hear the boys playing ball outside my window; I see the clouds blown away beyond the neighboring wood: all these I do in Zen.

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind.

The Noble Eightfold Path is a path of training: training in ethical conduct, training in mental discipline, and training in wisdom.

Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas, just as ice and water are of the same substance.

The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.

Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.

We can learn to be present with whatever is happening in our lives, and in this way, we can begin to transform our relationship to difficulty.

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

The path of practice moves from faith through understanding to direct realization.

Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes.

The snow lion stays in the mountains, and the snow lion's ways are the snow lion's ways.

The practice of meditation is like learning to play an instrument - it takes patience, regular practice, and a gentle touch.

The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.

When you note effectively, there is no time for defilements to arise. The mind becomes pure through noting.

When one sees with wisdom that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, one is liberated from suffering.

To understand everything is to forgive everything.

To see the truth, do not be for or against. The struggle between for and against is the mind's worst disease.

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

Do everything with a mind that lets go. Don't accept praise or gain or anything else. If you let go a little, you will have a little peace; if you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.

The water in the ocean can be rough or calm. It can be clear or murky. But the water itself doesn't mind.

The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.

The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.

Although all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they function perfectly well.

Observe the reality as it is, not as you wish it to be.

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.